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Hand-in-Hand Soap Opera

PROUD TO BE A CRAFTSMAN

Veronica and Natalia, have one thing in common, as does Atenyi. In search of their dreams, the trio encounter individual hurdles that threaten their progress. They fight against all odds to establish their businesses or gain approval from their parents, which is not forthcoming. On the other hand, Daudi is a young “unserious” boy who, despite the fact that he has a talent for carpentry, does not want to do any handiwork and would rather spend time with his Boda Boda pals who encourage him to take the easy way out. His mother, Magdalene eggs him on as she favours him over his sister Natalia. Silver, the foreman with an overblown ego struts around the arcade trying to prove how important he is, while Birungi, your typical pretty but rude hairdresser feels that she is doing everyone a big service and therefore has no kind words for those that demand better. James a young trained carpenter feels that his colleague/boss Mukwasi is too conservative and a battle ensues. Meanwhile, puffed-up Rudolph thinks that the arcade cannot function without him as the Facilities manager. Along the way, sparks, laughter, jealousies, love and rejection fly high as the plots in Hand in Hand unfold.

Hand in Hand - an entertaining and educative soap opera - is a brainchild of the German Development Bank (KfW)/PPTP, the German Development Cooperation (GTZ), and the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) in partnership with Great Lakes Film Productions, an award-winning production house. This soap is part of the over-riding goal to dispel the stigma associated with vocational education and training.

With a cast drawn from already popular actors and introducing new faces, the main theme of “Hand in Hand” is craftsmanship and portrays these professions as any other appropriate occupation that contribute to national development and therefore, not as dirty as it is perceived by many people. The soap opera seeks to empower the targeted audience with marketing and managerial skills.

In line with the stories, the set included a salon, a restaurant, a carpentry shop, a verandah and an electrical repairs shop. To make the set real, products were sourced from different corporate bodies in Uganda including uganda telecom, Nile Breweries, Dark and Lovely, Coca Cola and Rwenzori Mineral Water.

A comprehensive marketing campaign has accompanied the launchincluding road shows, advertisement, TV talk shows and promotions, posters and banners at strategic locations and newspaper inserts. Commercials on various occupations ranging from metal work to hair and beauty care have been developed to accompany the episodes.